Rural areas hard-hit by COVID-19
The virus continues to spare no part of the state.
This week, nine cities in Tennessee were among the top 20 in the country for the fastest-rising number of new cases, adjusted for population, according to The New York Times.
As of Wednesday, those cities include:
Sevierville, Tenn. (No. 3)
Cleveland, Tenn. (No. 6)
Athens, Tenn. (No. 7)
Tullahoma, Tenn. (No. 8)
Greeneville, Tenn. (No. 9)
Crossville, Tenn. (No. 11)
Morristown, Tenn. (No. 12)
Cookeville, Tenn. (No. 17)
Johnson City, Tenn. (No. 19)
A Vanderbilt study released last month showed that counties without mask mandates had significantly higher COVID-19 death rates. The study also showed those counties are largely rural, and Tennessee’s rural residents are generally older, less healthy and have less access to health care — three factors that exacerbated the virus.
Link: https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/health/2020/12/16/tennessee-covid-19-outbreak-among-top-country-vaccine-nears-rollout/3921120001/